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The Translator's Charter
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Inspired by the French Open Source translation site
traduc.org.
To achieve a good translation, it's crucial to firstly understand the
source text. Then the source text must be reformulated in the target
language.
Without understanding of the source text, the translation cannot be
good. So the job of the translator is to perform the necessary
research in order to understand the topic of the document, as well as
the terms used, before performing the translation itself.
Translators must be aware of tools that can be used to make their lives
easier, their work more efficient and the results better.
Such tools can include: Spellcheckers, document creation/layout tools,
translation memories, terminology tools and style guides.
For example, using a spellchecker allows you to make the translated
document look better and saves times during the review cycle.
Glossaries are wonderful tools and offer a great help. They help you
find the suitable and correct translation of a word or expression and
are good tools for sharing skills and experiences with other
translators.
On the other hand, since they are created for consistency reasons,
glossaries may become translator's worst enemies, because they tend to
cause the translator to forget that the sense/meaning of a word always
depends on the context, even if it has a commonly accepted defined
translation.
Firstly, translating means aiming for a final document that is useful
to the reader.
In contrast to literary translation, where the art of the work is to
transcribe precisely what the author is thinking, his expressions and
mood, technical translation is more a clear reformulation of what
the author describes. If some explanations are unclear in the source
text, it is crucial to ask the author, and collect information
about the given point/topic/feature in order to offer a clear
explanation in the target language.
A good method to avoid misinterpretations/mistranslations is to have
the product/software concerned running in parallel, to test its
functions at the same time as translating the source text.
The translated document should be adapted to the needs of the target
language reader.
For example, if the source text contents links to pages that exist in
the target language, these links should be replaced by their equivalent
in the target language; in a documentation file, screenshots and
software
messages should be replaced by equivalent screenshots and software
messages from the localized version of the product.
Spelling, grammar and style are as crucial as technical accuracy.
A document containing misspelled words, grammatical errors, bad syntax,
complicated formulated sentences, and so on, is not readable and is
difficult to understand. A text translated in this way will ultimately
be
useful to nobody.
Once the translation is completed, the translator should proofread the
translated text to get sure that she/he is fully satisfied with it.
Proofreading should focus on the information and terminology provided,
as well as the linguistic style, spelling, grammar and, if
necessary, the presentation of the document.
People are always unaware of their own most obvious errors. Therefore,
it is necessary to let one or more proofreaders review the
translated text. As the first readers, they are sufficiently detached
from the topic of the translation to be able to deliver objective
feedback on the linguistic quality and information provided.
This feedback may consist of positive criticism, or also
suggestions of changes or corrections. The translators should implement
these corrections themselves and proofread the translated and reviewed
text one last time.
Similarly to translators, authors are also blind to their own most
obvious errors. The source text may therefore contain some language
mistakes (spelling, grammar, inaccurate syntax or terminology, etc.) or
technical errors. If such issues are detected during the translation
or proofreading cycle, it is important to report them to
the authoring team. The text will then not only be useful to the
target audience, but will also be improved in its original form for the
wider audience, i.e. for the source language and other translation
languages.
If you would like to share your opinion regarding the content
of this page, please
contact
the Open Translation team.
